Love and Revenge
by klarolinefictionlover
Summary: Caroline had asked Tyler to love her more then he hated Klaus. What happens after he walks away.


Caroline curled up on her bed and cried. Why was she never enough? She'd asked Tyler to stay, to be the love of her life. To love her more then he hated Klaus. And he'd walked away. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised, but she was. No one ever chose her first. Even revenge was more important then her.

Caroline wrapped her arms around her chest, squeezing to the point of pain. Perhaps physical pain would be better then the emotional torrent flowing through her body. A sob escaped before she could hold it back. Tyler was gone. Not just for now, but he had chosen to walk away from any future they could've had together. For all eternity, things between them were over.

Questions and thoughts began to float through her head. Why wasn't she good enough? Elena and Damon flew through her mind, how he would do absolutely anything for her, how he always put her first. If Damon had to choose between Elena and revenge, the pendulum would always swing in Elena's favor. He wouldn't even have to think about it, there wasn't even a choice; he would always choose her.

"Why can't I have that," Caroline whispered to the silence surrounding her.

Out of nowhere, a small voice deep inside her said, "You _do_ have that."

The memory of that fateful night at Elena's house came into focus. Klaus had bitten her, and she was lying on the couch.

"_Nothing personal, love. But if I cure you, that means victory for him."_

_Caroline was gasping for breath. "If you don't feed me your blood, I'll die."_

"_Then you'll die. And Tyler will have learned his lesson the hard way."_

_ They had a longer conversation; she hardly remembered what they had said. But these words she did know._

"_I know that you're in love with me. And anybody capable of love is capable of being saved."_

"_You're hallucinating."_

"_I guess I'll never know."_

_With that, Caroline's eyes closed, and she began to fall into the darkness. As she was falling, she heard someone call her name once. She fell a little farther, and then heard the voice call out her name again. She thought maybe her body was being moved, but it could have been a hallucination. Then she tasted blood. Her true nature began to take over, and she drank the red elixir being offered to her. _

_ Caroline opened her eyes, and realized she was in Klaus's arms. He softly ran his hand over her hair as she drank. _

_ Caroline had fallen asleep in his arms that night. There were few times she'd woken up feeling as rested as she did the next morning. It had nothing to do with how exhausted she had been the night before, or the ordeal her body had been though. It was the being she was pressed against, the arms still holding her tightly. Still in a sleepy haze, she'd turned on her side, wrapping her arms around his back, and snuggled deeply into his chest. She felt his arms pull her closer. Klaus smelled like something you'd find in nature, like he was part of the earth. _

_ Caroline may have been drowsy, but she knew where she was. And she certainly knew who she was with. But she was enjoying this moment, and she wasn't ready to face another day where he was her enemy. In that room, on that couch, he was the man that saved her life. She could hardly admit even to herself how much she enjoyed that morning. _

_ Time seemed to go on forever, but it wasn't long enough. Caroline opened her eyes, and looked up at his face. He was looking at her, like he was committing her face to memory. She gave him a small smile. "Thank you."_

_ "You're welcome, sweetheart."_

_ Klaus rubbed his thumb on her cheek gently and she felt her heart skip a beat. The moment was ruined when they heard Tyler coming up to the door. She cleared her throat, and got up off Klaus' lap. She stretched and cracked her neck while standing up and walked out of the room._

Caroline sat up as the realization hit her. Klaus had picked her over revenge. She was more important to him then anything else. She smiled through her tears. How had she not seen this before? She had picked loyalty to Tyler over the reality that was right in front of her for so long.

If Elena could forgive Damon for all the terrible things he'd done, why couldn't she do the same for Klaus? He had done horrible things, but he loved her. Caroline would come first in his life. But he'd put the ball in her court. The next move was up to her. Klaus had already spoken his piece. He wanted to be her last love. When that happened, it would be because she was ready.

Caroline went to blow her nose and wash her face. She drank a blood bag, smiling at the mini fridge Klaus had given her. She took a deep breath to compose herself, then reached for her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she found Klaus. She hit the call button, waiting impatiently for him to pick up.

"Caroline. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

She couldn't help but close her eyes and smile. The sound of his voice made her nervous and excited at the same time.

"Hey. How is everything going down there?"

"Not to shabby love. There's a party going on this evening, people are all over the place. How are you?"

She thought about it before answering. Tyler had left, but she'd realized there was so much more waiting for her, all she had to do was reach out and take it. She smiled and said, "I'm good thanks." They made small talk for a while, then Caroline asked what was really on her mind. "So I was wondering… is that ticket to New Orleans still available?"

"Are you saying you want to see me?"

"Maybe I am."

"Of course Caroline, that ticket is always available for you."

"Thanks Klaus."

A knock sounded at her door. Caroline's forehead creased, she wasn't expecting anyone. "Just a second, there's someone at my door."

She zipped over to open it, almost dropping her phone when she saw who was on the other side.

"As I said, that ticket is always available for you, but I was already in the neighborhood." There was a small smirk on his face. "And you did say 'maybe' you wanted to see me."

Caroline's face slowly lit up. "You're here. Why are you here?"

Klaus shrugged. "I had some business in the area."

Caroline wondered if that had anything to do with Tyler, but at the moment she was happier to see him then suspicious of his business. Caroline took his hand, pulled him through the door, and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. It took Klaus a second to respond, surprised by her actions. But then he squeezed her tightly. He gently kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I'm so glad you're here," she whispered quietly.

She pulled back to look at his face. His expression was curious.

"I'm unbelievable happy to here that, love. But may I ask, why now? I haven't heard from you in months."

Caroline chewed on her bottom lip trying to decide how to answer his question. "There are quite a few reasons actually."

"Why don't you tell me all about it, love."

She pulled away and went to sit on her bed. As she got comfortable, Klaus sat down in front of her. How much could she say without outing Tyler? Did it even matter? Klaus knew Tyler wanted to kill him, that wasn't new information.

"Tyler was here this evening."

"I know."

"How do you know that?"

"I know by his scent in your room."

Caroline laughed. Of course, he could smell Tyler. "Right, of course. Anyway, he came here to say goodbye to me. I was really upset after, because I asked him to love me more then he hates you. All he could say was, 'I'm sorry.' After he left, I was wondering why I wasn't enough, why he cared about revenge more then me." Her eyes watered slightly, but she fought back the tears. It might have been only hours before, but that was her past now. She didn't want it to matter anymore. She looked Klaus in the eye. "Then I thought about that night you bit me." He looked down. She reached out and took his hand, clasping her fingers through his. Klaus looked up again. "Yes, it was horrible, but when it came down to letting me die or not… You picked me over your revenge. And I can't believe it took me this long to see it." She scooted closer to him, until their legs were touching. "You picked loving me over your revenge, over hatred. No one does that for me but you. Even after everything that's happened, all the times my friends asked me to distract you, to try killing you; you haven't held that against me. You have loved me no matter what I've done. How can I help but do the same?"

Klaus could hardly breathe, this couldn't really be happening. "What are you saying, Caroline?"

"That night after you fed me your blood, I fell asleep in your arms. You held me all night. And the next morning, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay there, just you and me, in our little couch bubble." Klaus chuckled at that. "But I wasn't ready to admit that then."

"And you're ready to admit that now?"

She smiled. "I think I am."

"What is it you want, Caroline?"

"I want to see Paris, Rome, Tokyo. I want to see great cities, and art, and hear music. I want genuine beauty."

Klaus smiled, his dimples showing. "So you're ready to take a chance, Caroline?"

Her smile lit up her face. "I'm ready to take a chance."

Klaus pulled her into his lap. She leaned forward, and so did he. His lips met hers in a gentle kiss. There was no need to rush this. After all, they had eternity.


End file.
